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Photo: Jessica Miglio/Courtesy of HBO

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Guessing by the trailer, Jenna Lyons appears in the third season as Hannah’s boss at what is presumably Hannah’s flashy, new magazine job. But most of us recognize Lyons as the iconic and ever-chic head of J.Crew (in real life, Lyons is also pals with Dunham and her parents) who is a girl crush to many of us young women toiling away in the fashion world.

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Richard E. Grant plays Jasper, Jessa’s new friend from rehab. “I have a fancy accent,” he tells her. “Whereas you sound like someone who grew up between Heathrow and JFK.” Seductive but also slightly lecherous, Jasper is the perfect manifestation of Jessa’s daddy issues. Many moons ago, however, this talented actor was Withnail from Withnail and I as well as Dracula.

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Kim Gordon also has a bit role in rehab! As the former Sonic Youth front woman, eternally striking and tough, Gordon would seem a natural idol for Jessa. Her split from Thurston Moore a couple years ago was saddening to many fans, but clearly Gordon seems to be doing quite fine.

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John Cameron Mitchell appears in spectacular fashion as Hannah’s coked-out e-book editor in both last season and this coming one. True fans know Mitchell as the talented director, writer and actor behind critically acclaimed Hedwig and theAngry Inch and Shortbus.

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Gaby Hoffmann plays Caroline, the wild and emotionally unstable sister of Adam (Adam Driver). A successful child actor (Field of Dreams, Uncle Buck—look her up on IMDB to see some adorable kid pics), Hoffman did a spectacular job last year as the titular Crystal Fairy in Sebastián Silva’s quixotic and improvised film with Michael Cera.

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Shiri Appleby is Natalia, Adam’s stunning-looking rebound after he and Hannah break up in season two. You might also remember being bewitched by her as Liz Parker from the popular television series Roswell. And we hope you recognize Natalia’s friend, played by the hilarious Amy Schumer, a rising star in comedy.

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It feels like Danielle Brooks arrived on the scene just yesterday—and suddenly she’s everywhere. She plays everyone’s favorite, Taystee, in Jenji Kohan’s hilarious Netflix comedy Orange Is the New Black, and now she appears in the universe of Girls as Laura, a closeted lesbian in rehab with Jessa. We hope there is more to come.

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Colin Quinn is Hermie, the owner of Grumpy’s who becomes a mentor to Ray (Alex Karpovsky). Good for you if you remember Quinn from the eighties as the announcer in MTV’s Remote Control. And if you don’t, there’s plenty of great Quinn material when he was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2000.

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Bob Balaban takes on the role as Hannah’s shrink perfectly. Of course, he’s brilliant in everything he does: Moonrise Kingdom, Ghost World, Best in Show . . . does he start to look familiar? Trust me, the list goes on and on.

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And then there’s multitalented Debra Monk; she plays the tough woman who has seen it all and kicks Jessa out of rehab. Which would make sense. Monk has starred in countless Broadway productions, films, and television shows—too many, in fact, to name here.

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When you are at the helm of one of television’s hottest shows, it means casting the actor (or celebrity) of your dreams for any part imaginable. And while the third season of Lena Dunham’s Girls appears as if it will delve even deeper into Hannah’s self-absorption, we can still look to the world around her to see how, exactly, the show has captured a moment. It’s an alluring mix of eighties and nineties nostalgia, New York intelligentsia, cult films and television shows, and edgy, comedic talent. Some of these actors are cultural touchstones (Chris Eigeman), while others are celebrities whose mere presence grounds the show in coolness (Kim Gordon). Girls is certainly not the first show to do this (Entourage, Seinfeld), but nonetheless, using actors and celebrities in this way adds a relatable dimension to the narrative, giving an insider’s wink during the spectacle of performance. When Dunham as Hannah hooks up with Patrick Wilson, it feels voyeuristic. Herewith, we present a slideshow tour of the significant cameos in the show, both past and future.